The invention relates to mounting clips, and more particularly, to mounting clips which mount a fuel rail to an intake manifold of an internal combustion engine.
A fuel rail assembly is used for supplying fuel to an internal combustion engine. The fuel rail assembly includes a fuel rail tube and fuel injectors which are each retained within fuel cups disposed on the fuel rail tube. In a known arrangement, the fuel rail assembly is mounted to the engine by fuel rail mounting brackets and mounting bolts. The fuel rail mounting brackets are secured to the fuel rail tube by an established manufacturing process such as brazing. This mounting and brazing process is relatively time-consuming and expensive on a production line.
It would be beneficial to provide a fuel rail to intake manifold mounting clip which can mount the fuel rail to the engine in a single step, without the need for mounting bolts or other types of mechanical fasteners or brazing.
Briefly, the preferred embodiment discloses a clip for mounting a fuel rail to an internal combustion engine. The fuel rail has an outer surface and a projection on the outer surface and the engine has a retaining feature. The clip comprises a body extending in a plane and a first pair of rail legs extending from the body generally perpendicular to the plane. A free end of each rail leg includes a concave surface juxtaposed from and biased toward the free end of the other rail leg. The clip further includes second rail leg extending from the body and generally aligned with and disposed from one of the first pair of rail legs by a predetermined distance. A free end of the second rail leg includes a generally concave surface mountable to outer surface of the fuel rail. The clip further includes at least one mounting leg extending from the body. The concave surface of each of the first pair of rail legs and the second rail leg are mountable to the outer surface of a fuel rail. The projection is disposed between the first pair of rail legs and the second rail leg, and the at least one mounting leg is insertable into the retaining feature, such that the clip limits transverse movement of the fuel rail relative to the internal combustion engine.
The preferred embodiment also discloses a clip for mounting a fuel rail to an internal combustion engine. The fuel rail has an outer surface and a projection on the outer surface and the engine having a retaining feature. The clip comprises a body extending in a plane, three pairs of rail legs and a pair of mounting legs. A first pair of rail legs includes each rail leg extending from the body generally perpendicular to the plane. A second pair of rail legs extends from the body and generally aligned with and disposed from a respective one of the first pair of rail legs by a predetermined distance. A third pair of rail legs extends from the body at a location distal from the first and second pairs of rail legs. Each of the third pair of rail legs is generally aligned with a respective one of the first pair of rail legs. A free end of each leg in each of the first, second, and third pairs of rail legs includes a generally concave surface juxtaposed from and biased toward the other leg of each of the first, second, and third pairs of rail legs. The pair of mounting legs extends from the body generally perpendicular to the plane. Each concave surface is mountable to the outer surface of the fuel rail. The projection on the outer surface of the fuel rail is locatable between the first and second pair of rail legs and the mounting legs are insertable into the retaining feature such that the clip limits transverse and axial movement of the fuel rail relative to the internal combustion engine.